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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Jan 26, 2015 - 08:40pm PT
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I was there, climbing two routes over. It was a 5.8 that has a little vertical section. He was at the bolt going to make his clip and had a hold break. He outweighed his belayer by a lot, and pulled her up past his fall. He was wearing a helmet, but fell upside down onto the scramble just below. First responders on the scene took over competently and called for ambulance-- helicopter called in, which we heard as we were descending the trail to the parking lot.
He banged his head up, hurt his back and shoulder, and suffered quite an ankle injury but never lost consciousness.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jan 26, 2015 - 10:00pm PT
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hey there say, daphne... whewww... glad to hear he made it through all that...
thanks to-and-for the O.P...
and thanks for your update...
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol
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Jan 27, 2015 - 12:28am PT
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Sad to hear the news and hope the guy will be alright. Good call on wearing the helmet there.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Jan 27, 2015 - 07:27am PT
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Thanks for the update! This post definitely caught my eye for obvious reasons. I am glad it sounds like the guy will be OK. Heal up!
It is pretty much impossible to fall more than 10 feet at Scraps unless you are skipping bolts, off route, pull your belayer up a significant distance (which sounds like this may have happened) or blow it at a clip with a ton of slack in your hands. Agree with Jebus that rope management looks like it played a part in the fall, particularly the upside down piece.
Based on Daphne's comment, it sounds like it was Soul Sister Thunder and he landed on the ramp at the start.
That's a picture of the route with my daughter in the short vertical section. Beneath that section is the low angled ramp.
Thanks for the heads up Floyd!
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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Jan 27, 2015 - 08:19am PT
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can't imagine a hold breaking there. that rock looks solid...
glad the guys ok. best luck on the recovery.
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Jan 27, 2015 - 08:31am PT
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That is the route and the place he fell in photo above. Soul Sister Thunder. I didnt see the fall from the beginning, just heard it and saw him land. He fell a long long way, 20 feet. Wont make conclusions on amount of slack in system and belay technique as i did not look at that team other than to see them begin the route. I was just coming off belay myself and talking to my partner.
I have never seen a thinner more petite adult belayer than this one.
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Floyd Hayes
Trad climber
Hidden Valley Lake, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2015 - 11:04am PT
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That's a sad accident. I hope the climber will fully recover. It would be good to replace the chopped first bolt on Table Scraps if nobody has done so yet.
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NikkiNadine
Sport climber
Oakland, CA
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Jan 27, 2015 - 01:07pm PT
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I also witnessed the fall and I can provide a little clarity on how the climber impacted. I was climbing the route between Daphne and the climber who fell. I looked over when I heard the climber yell (I believe this was when his hold broke loose) and witnessed him impact the ramp. The climber was not upside down at the time of impact, though he was almost horizontal. He landed between the ramp and the rock face, impacting his back and the back of his head on the ramp and his ankle on the rock face.
I did not see the belayer, but my belayer did. My belayer attributed the accident to the weight disparity between the climber and the belayer and said that an appropriate amount of slack was out for clipping.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Jan 27, 2015 - 04:45pm PT
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"appropriate amount of slack" doesn't sound good in any situation if you fall before you clip.
best wishes to the climber
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Sam Trimboli
Sport climber
Duncan's Mills
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Mar 31, 2016 - 04:21pm PT
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[photo id=450929]
I was there last night, March 30th, 2016; I found the rock of quite poor quality. Many broken feet and loose hands on Aperitif and the surrounding climbs. Great location, cool formation and good hardware but the rock quality is not safe. Great spot for teaching rappel and lead technique but due to finding bolt holes like this on the only climb frequently fallen on, the crag's only 5.11, its a little hard to recommend Table Scraps as a good place to learn. Great spot, unfortunate rock.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Mar 31, 2016 - 04:29pm PT
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fixed it for ya Sam. Is that a bolt hole?
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Sam Trimboli
Sport climber
Duncan's Mills
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Mar 31, 2016 - 04:58pm PT
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Yeah, first bolt on the 5.11.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Mar 31, 2016 - 05:20pm PT
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Come on guys, let's be clear and logical. Your picture supports that someone is a thief, not anything to do with the acceptability for the rock quality for bolts.
That bolt hole was stripped, not broken. Someone clearly loosened the hex head and shaft (Rawls 5-piece) and stole the hanger. The rock around didn't break. You can find the same "hole" at the bottom Table Scraps for the same reason. I placed them in those locations due to the cruxes being located as part of the opening moves and a bad base for falling, as was a correct assessment given this accident. I hammered the rocks flat for the placement. Notice how the white portion is mostly below the hole because that is where the majority of the surface area for the hanger sits in contact with the rock. Someone's ego or just downright being a thief caused them to yank those two bolts.
Now, is the rock friable, absolutely! Will there continue to be broken holds, yup. Have the routes cleaned up significantly since originally bolted, certainly. Is this crag a good candidate for glue-ins, for sure. Scraps receives some of the highest usage on the hill and has the newest routes. I expected some subsequent maintenance would eventually be needed, as is true with all crags.
Let's not chicken little because you personally get a little scared about choss. If it's too much for you, move on to something else. The rock is fine for the hardware and lead falls. I personally have fallen on the bolts and have seen many people fall over and over on Jesus Christ, Monster Quest, and Wine Style.
Don't create a bunch of hyperbole... Please get a little more experience before running around to multiple websites and making multiple posts about this. It just shows your noobness.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Mar 31, 2016 - 05:47pm PT
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I hammered the rocks flat for the placement.
Yeah, we're the noobs.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Mar 31, 2016 - 05:53pm PT
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Pud: You do have eyes right? You can see from the picture that this type of volcanic rock has basically zero flat spaces. You HAVE to hammer it flat or the bolt hanger would at best be resting on 1-2 fins of rock that for sure would eventually crumble and/or break under torque and result in a spinner / loose bolt.
So I guess based upon you comment, if the shoe fits ...
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Mar 31, 2016 - 06:01pm PT
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Fracturing rock before placing a bolt is lame at best.
"hammering rock flat" weakens more than the surface.
Take up another sport, sport.
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Sam Trimboli
Sport climber
Duncan's Mills
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Mar 31, 2016 - 06:09pm PT
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Didn't mean to offend, just to raise awareness. The rock is sub-par, no arguing that, nothing wrong with that, much of St. Helena suffers from loose rock but remains some of the best climbing in the area. Like I said, great little crag but many of the bolts, not just the hangers, are wobbling. This suggests that others in this rock actually might not be so solid. Regardless of wether or not the bolt was removed by hand(I could easily see removing it if it were wobbling to reduce the risk of it pulling on someone) or if it came out under force due to a fall, it is worrisome to see a bolt hole at the base of a fun route and is not very confidence inspiring. I apologize if you feel I approached the subject in an un-cueth manner, I was only trying to educate on the status and relative safety of the climbing and share my opinion of those issues. Thank you for the work you have done, again, I did not mean to offend you.
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Killer K
Boulder climber
Sacramento, CA
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Mar 31, 2016 - 06:14pm PT
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3 1/2" long 1/2" dia bolts in soft rock will wobble but shear strength may not be compromised. However pull-out tensile strength is another ball of wax.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Mar 31, 2016 - 07:32pm PT
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Actually the apology is mine. I was getting ready to leave work when I saw this. I should've known better than to reply in rush. My snarkiness comes through.
I have seen both this and the Table Scrap bolt holes, they wee clearly jacked for their hanger not rock. I know the crags needs some work, but I have been on a new crag lately so all my attention and efforts have been elsewhere. I'll try to get out to Scraps with some new hardware at some point soon.
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